Making a 150 year-old toile

My coursework is all submitted, so I can finally admit to what I've been working on for the last few weeks.

Detail

Eight whole years ago, I blogged about a pattern from April 1874 which was in a box of 1940s/50s patterns which I bought at auction. It was from the Journal des Dames et des Demoiselles, and consisted of a single sheet of paper, printed on both sides with the overlapping pieces which were the norm at the time. Each side contains the pieces for two garments and an accessory, plus small illustrations and brief notes.

Side 1

Side 2

Then, four years later, making up one of the designs was one of my sewing goals for the year. I chose this one because a) I liked it the most and b) I had been able to find the associated fashion plate online, complete with a back view.

My choice - pattern illustration and fashion plate

Like a lot of people's goals for that year, that didn't happen, and the whole idea was shelved. However, when I discovered that I could make something as part of my submissions for my course, I went back to it.

I have never come across anything which gives any suggestion of how well, or otherwise, these magazine patterns were made, so I had no idea if this would actually work. I warned my tutors that this was very much an experiment and chose to just make a toile, exactly as it was on the pattern, from plain white cotton.

I traced off the relevant pieces, which was not that difficult as each piece has its own distinctive line style, and added standard ⅝" seam allowances.

Some of the different outlines

For positioning the pieces for cutting out, I relied on a mixture of costuming books and guesswork.

Cutting out

The deep front darts and the back with its pleated lower section were both easy to do, but when it came to sewing the bodice pieces together things became more confusing.

Left to right - front, side back, and back

From the illustration, it's clear that the side back is not attached to the back below the waist. However, I struggled to tell how far down it was attached to the front. The fact that the black trim goes up to the waist suggests that it is hanging free, but if this is the case then how does the front maintain its smooth line?

Close-up

I tried sewing the two sides to different lengths, and once the bodice was made up, it was obvious that sewing all down the side was incorrect. Once I had an actual garment to look at, the description "fastened at the side with small straps made from the same fabric as the trimming" made a lot more sense. The straps fasten the front to the back, and the long side back piece then covers them. The joys of actually making something rather than just reading about it!

Another thing which became apparent from making the pattern up is that the weakest point in the construction is the top of the pleats at the back waist. I suspect that the two buttons, as well as being decorative, anchor and hide any reinforcing which may be required here.

The pleat construction leaves little support at these points

Attaching the two collars was the next challenge, as there were a lot of differently-shaped curves to wrangle together. I had already stay-stitched the neckline, and decided to stay stitch the collars as well, so that I could snip to the stitching. This is probably not a period technique, but it did allow all the pieces to be pulled out straight, and they then fitted perfectly.

The sleeves were simple to construct, and once I had grasped that the back seam needed to meet the curved seam on the bodice back, they fitted perfectly.

Perfectly smooth sleeve heads

Initially I hadn't realised that the wrist straps were doubled, but that was easily rectified.

Adding the cuff and straps

A modern dressform is a very different shape from a corseted figure, so the fit on the dummy is not ideal. As this is a toile, I did not add a lining or bone the seams, but I doubt if these would have made much difference. As I haven't yet made a bustle cage, I improvised with a cushion pad tied tightly at one end, and stash fabric draped and pinned into pleats for the 'skirt'.

Side view

The front was hardest to fit on my dressform

My 'bustle' was surprisingly effective!

Interestingly, the finished garment, made with no alterations to the pattern, has a bust of 94cm/37" and a waist of 79cm/31". So the target audience was clearly not much different from that of 1930s magazines, in which the free patterns tend to be for a 36" bust. Nor does the waist/bust ration suggest particularly tight corset lacing.

There are, of course, things which I could have done better - but that is the point of a mock-up. I'm also well aware that the pattern would need altering to fit me. But overall, I'm thrilled with the end result. In fact, it's still on the dressform beside me as I type this, as I can't bear to put it away yet! The project was huge fun to do, and proves that these patterns were not just a basic giveaway but very well-drafted and eminently usable. I've definitely encountered modern patterns which were worse. Much worse. Even though the instructions were terrifyingly brief by modern standards, when combined with the illustration they turned out to include all the information which would not have been obvious to a contemporary dressmaker.

The instructions, and my translation

I think that this may have rekindled my interest in making the complete ensemble!